Section 59 and smacking

Sue Bradford’s Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child Discipline) Amendment Bill 2005will be considered by a select committee after the election. The bill will remove a legal defence of reasonable force by way of discipline for parents charged with assaulting their children by repealing s59 of the Crimes Act, which permits reasonable force. Without s59, the law considers all force to be assault, meaning “the act of intentionally applying or attempting to apply force to the person of another, directly or indirectly…”

Supporters of this bill incorrectly believe all force, both unreasonable and reasonable, is abuse. They are therefore demanding a law change as they believe parents should not be allowed the option of physically disciplining their children. But they tell people the law change is needed to stop child abuse.

Banning smacking has never reduced child abuse in other countries. In fact in Sweden, the first country to ban smacking, child abuse has increased and parents have been criminalised for using smacking as discipline.

As the purpose of Ms Bradford